Random Blog #2: Hunters S1E4 - A Story That Should Have Been Avoided

"For the love of money is the root of all evil. A trail of signs did lead The Hunters unto a merchant's lair, where unearthed remnants of the past echoed evils of the present. Millie's compass delivered her to the House of Offerman, whereupon she encountered Jonah and put a charge unto him: I beseech thee walk in truth!"
reads the description of the fourth episode of season one of Hunters, The Pious Thieves, on Amazon Prime.

Image Credit: https://www.amazon.com/

Hunters is an original series by Amazon that is based on Jews hunting Nazis who are secretly hidden in the United States of America by being a part of its high ranking government posts with a new identity. The aim of the hunters, led by Meyer Offerman, is to bring the Nazis to justice before they successfully create a Fourth Reich in the country. The series is set in the year 1977 and runs stories of the members of the troop, who were held in Nazis Concentration Camp in the year 1942, parallel to the current storyline.

The beginning of the series reminds its viewers about how "The Boys: An Amazon Original Series" started. Both these series start with a murder, following which a character related to the deceased begins to feel lost in his life and goes on to become a member of a group of vigilantes.

I was looking to start a new series after i finished watching "Breathe Into The Shadows" and "Hunters" appeared under the recommended section. To be completely honest, I started watching Hunters only for Al Pacino. I instantly became a fan of his acting after i watched "The Godfather Trilogy", especially the scene where Michael Corleone, played by Al, visits Frank Pentangeli, played by Michael V. Gazzo, to inquire about the attack that happened at his house.

"In My home! In my bedroom where my wife sleeps! Where my children come to play with their toys." is a dialogue that will always be remembered by his fans.

You may watch the famous clip below.

In one of the initial episodes of Hunters, Meyer Offerman, played by Al, tells Jonah Heidelbaum, played by Logan Lerman, that he would eventually discover the stories of all its members in the coming days. As the series progresses and viewers, along with Jonah, look forward to listening to everybody's stories, makers commit a huge blunder in the fourth episode.

The entire series has two stories running parallel to each other in a good way; however, the parallel story in its fourth episode pinched me a little.

The parallel story is about a couple that meets in the concentration camp, falls in love and wishes to get married. Unaware of what lies ahead, they plan to escape by getting in the back of a truck. Both of them get killed while attempting the brave escape and one of the Nazi Officers takes away the engagement ring of the boy's family that he had given to his lover after she accepted his proposal. The Officer then deposits it in a bank which is later 'robbed' by the hunters.

Image Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The main intent of the hunters is to find information hidden in locker number 630 that they believe is vital for the hidden Nazis to execute their deadly mission. In order to cover-up the main intent, they plan to rob the bank and make sure that they find Locker 630 & gather whatever information they can.

While this sounds interesting, the episode goes down because of a story about the couple that in the end becomes all about the ring. Hunters find various valuable belongings that were stolen from Jews but makers focusing only on the ring decreases the value of other prestigious items and it is unable to make an impact on viewers. A quick flashback related to most of the things found would have sufficed and it would have been highly appreciated. It may also have helped to reduce episode's run time and maintain a faster pace.

I would have loved to write about the entire season, but i chose to write only about this episode as i am a huge fan of two stories running parallel to each other and it pinches me when makers do not perfect it.

The Godfather Part II remains one of the best examples of running two stories parallel to each other.

Image Credit: https://www.imdb.com/

The Godfather Part II is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather Part I. The prequel starts with Vito Corleone's rise from ashes while the sequel starts with a portrayal of how many resources did Michael Corleone have at his disposal. Both these stories illustrate two different sides of the characters in the end. The end illustrates how Vito dies with everyone he loves around him, while Michael is left all alone after he gets his brother, Fredo Corleone, killed by his bodyguard.

Spoiler Alert: The Hunt will continue as Hunters has been renewed for the second season. In a nasty blow, it will not star Al Pacino as Jonah made sure to serve justice to "Meyer Offerman" in the finale of season one.

That is all for this topic.

If you have anything to contribute then kindly share it in the comment section. I would love to hear from you.

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